Meringues

A meringue is a sweetened egg foam that generally stands on its own. Meringues obtain their stiffness and stability from sugar and heat. They are often baked slowly at low oven temperatures of 200 degrees F/93 degrees C. When browned in a hot oven or under a broiler, the surface gets crisp while the interior remains moist.

Meringues have a lot of sugar. The proportion of sugar to egg white ranges from 1:1 to 2:1. The higher, a 67% sugar content, is typical of jams. At this concentration, sugar reaches its water solubility at room temperature. Granulated sugar does not dissolve completely in a hard meringue. It leaves a gritty texture and weeping syrup drops. Confectioner's sugar or premade syrup are better suited for meringue use.

There are two main categories of meringues: uncooked and cooked.

Uncooked meringues are the simplest and most common. They vary in purpose and firmness based on the timing of the cook's addition of sugar. The lightest meringues are obtained by folding in the sugar only after the foam is formed. The sugar dissolves into the bubble walls and adds bulk and cohesiveness. These meringues are suitable for a spread pie topping or folding into a mousse or chiffon mix. If the sugar is beaten into the foam as it forms, it noticeably tightens the foam texture. These meringues get stiffer and can be shaped. Some cooks reverse the technique by beating the eggs gradually into the sugar. This process takes longer but a cook can form a foam in autopilot as it demans little attention. The resulting meringues are denser and less brittle. Therefore, the earlier the sugar is added, the firmer and finer the meringue.

Cooked meringues are more complex and are generally more dense. Heat incorporates the sugar better in the meringue and stabilizes the protein network into a solid structure. There are two basic cooked meringues:

• The Italian meringue is a syrup-cooked meringue. Sugar is made into a syrup first by heating sugar and water to 240 degrees F/115 degrees C. The whites are whipped to stiff peaks and then the syrup is streamed into the foam and beaten. The result is a fluffy, fine-textured, stiff foam. It can be used to decorate pastries or blend into batters and creams. Note: The heat from the hot syrup is not enough to kill salmonella as much of its heat gets lost to the bowl, whisk, and air.
• The Swiss meringue (similar to the French meringue cuite) is prepared by heating eggs, acid, and sugar in a hot bath and then beaten into a stiff foam. This preparation pausterizes the egg whites before forming the foam. This meringue can be refrigerated for several days and is usually pipped into decorative shapes.